Why Don’t U.S. Veterans Get the Support They Need?

With military suicides at an all-time high, we need to ask what we can do better.

Imagine being a soldier. Fighting war is the way of life. Death, destruction, and mayhem are everyday occurrences. Killing people you don’t know, because you are ordered to, for reasons you don’t understand. Living life on pure adrenaline, never quite sure if today is the day you watch a friend die. Knowing that even if it is, you can’t grieve, you must keep fighting, you must keep shooting. Watching brothers-in-arms lose limbs or suffer irreversible injuries. Hearing silence shattered by bullets and bombs, the anguished screams of people with whom you share an unbreakable bond, or even worse, innocent civilians caught in the crossfire of situations out of their control.

Then imagine what it must be like to have to reintegrate into civilian society. Having to live an everyday, ‘normal’ life, when, for months, normality has consisted of a permanent adrenaline rush, of seeing sights most people can’t possibly comprehend. To go from watching people die in agony, sometimes at your own hands, to doing the weekly supermarket run and playing catch with your children in the back garden.

Due to how overwhelming the need for support is, many never receive the treatment they need. On average, 18 veterans and one active-duty service member a DAY reach a point where they feel unable to go on, and take their own lives. In 2012, 182 active soldiers died through suicide, with another 110 reported suicides that are still under investigation. In contrast, 176 soldiers were killed in combat. More soldiers took the decision to end their own life than those that had no choice.

The after-effects of army-borne mental health problems reach much further than suicide. Every single night, over 300,000 US war veterans find refuge in a homeless shelter or on the streets. Over the course of a year, the number of veterans who suffer homelessness is between 529,000 and 840,000 – 26% of the homeless population. 45% of these homeless veterans suffer from PTSD or another mental illness.

As ability to recognise and diagnose mental illness increases, excuse for these situations being allowed to happen decreases. If you risk your life serving your country, the very least you should receive is appropriate medical treatment, support and guidance, both in the midst of war and in the aftermath. It is shameful that up to 840,000 veterans risk everything for America, yet America cannot even provide them a basic home upon their return. It is disgraceful that 18 veterans a day take their own life; yet, if they seek help, they have to wait up to a month for an appointment.

There will be people reading this now saying the soldiers knew what they were signing up for. Yet, unless you have been in a war, nothing can possibly prepare you for the experience. The teenagers signing up for service can’t possibly comprehend what is to come; for most, their knowledge of war is based on Hollywood films and Call of Duty videogames, with their tendencies to glorify war. They aren’t mature enough emotionally to deal with the fact they aren’t killing ‘the bad guys’, but that they will have to take the lives of other human beings.

I have never served in the army; the thought of it is terrifying, and I strongly disagree with war. I steadfastly refuse to take the life of another human, whatever their perceived transgressions. However, I can accept that, sometimes, war is sadly inevitable. In those instances, armies need people to fight. However, when the persons’ fight is over, those that risked everything for their country need to receive support to return to a normal life, however long it takes and however much it costs. They’ve earned it.

The Iraq/Afghanistan war was floated on the idea of protecting America. Now it is time for America to protect those that fought for her.

About Andrew Lawes

"I back this kind of guts and fortitude. You are not alone, my friend." Duff McKagan; Guns 'N' Roses

♦◊♦

His name is Andrew Lawes, and he is afflicted with a condition definable only as the Lawes Disorder.

For thirty years, Lawes has fought against the darkness in his mind. Depression, self-harm, suicidal impulses and full-on mental breakdowns showed him a hell unlike no other. Were it not for his career supporting, empowering and caring for adults with learning difficulties, he would have succumbed to the madness long ago. Instead, the unique insights into the mind, how interact with others and, most importantly, how to create a world within a world his work exposed him to gave him the hope to keep fighting.

♦◊♦

"Bless you for giving people hope." Jonathan Davis; Korn

In 'The Lawes Disorder', Lawes shares his uncensored reflections in an attempt to showcase the true nature of mental illness, before offering the support and guidance to others in similar situations that he is renowned for. Fourteen years of therapy raised more questions than answers; Lawes’ thoughts on religion, autism, interpersonal relationships, mental health, drug abuse and how the human mind works are the key to determining the true nature of the Lawes Disorder, how it applies to the wider world and how these issues can be managed, both individually and societally, to enable the reader to gain the freedom that comes with self-acceptance.

Leave a Reply

This convo is very interesting. I served until injured. I never knew the amount of corruption in this world until I served. My Evans are all early promotes so I was not a slacker. I volunteered for everything I could on top of watch and duty in order to serve as fully as I could. We were soooo tired but we pushed on. Look up LaVena Johnson. This is the price many male and female veterans pay to protect our country. Among other things that we have to deal with we have to watch out for our brothers in arms.… Read more »

[…] The Good Man Project says, “an estimated 600,000 suffer from mental health conditions. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs say that 11-20 percent of these service members experience Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD),” […]

Another resource for fellow vets is IAVA. It’s a non-profit org that lobbies for vets on a variety of topics to include employment, health care, post 911 GI Bill, etc. This org is free for vets to join, no annual dues like the VFW or American Legion. They provide up-to-date info on events on Capitol Hill, VA, and DoD, volunteer opportunities, blog articles, donation opportunities, and fun stuff too.

I really dig this article. For someone who never served or deployed he captured the insight of what it feels to be a Soldier; to come back and be expected to be a full fledge member of the community and your family. Its tough to turn it on and off (deployment state of mind) but its very courages and admireable for those who try to return to normalcy, its not easy. Some never turn it off and in the end, it catches up to you.

There is no doubt that too many soldiers are returning with physical and mental damage but that is true with any war. It is an ugly business. IMO, there is no “acceptable” percentage, but you accept that there will be casualties when you go to war. We have a solemn duty to provide our returning warriors with every assistance we can give them. Thank you for your efforts to bring awareness to this cause. That said, I understand Mr. Flowers’ point above. You should not speculate or make statements about the causation of the trauma vis a vis the lack… Read more »

“What I said was that you cannot truly appreciate what war is like unless you have been involved in one.” Sooooo… What exactly is your personal experience then that leads you to be such an authority? ” I haven’t described anybody as an idiot. What I actually said was that most peoples’ exposure to war before signing up is limited to computer games and films. Is there some sort of field trip to warzones on offer to children that I am unaware of?” Yes, there is. Everyone does not live in a bubble. Some of these guys come from inner… Read more »

I’m not accusing anybody of being sheltered. Of course some people will have grown up around gangs. Of course some people will have seen dead bodies. And of course some people will have seen the news. I’m not saying that people aren’t aware of the reality of war, just that it is incredibly hard to truly comprehend what it is like unless you have been there. I also said that I can’t possibly imagine what it must be like. However, the basic truth of the amount of people taking their own lives and developing mental health problems due to war… Read more »

I’m in the midst of doing research on military members grieving the death of a comrade, whether active duty or veterans. Survivor guilt is a huge factor in this. The programs available for them depend on the branch of service and of course availability.

This is an absolutely silent epidemic, like TBI, which also factors in to the equation. The reading I’ve been doing is heartbreaking. I hope to meet with Navy and VA officials next month to get a better sense of the complexities.

The fact the over 1 in 3 of those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from mental health conditions, 11-20% of which are PTSD, shows that others in your army are not capable of handling what is going on. The fact that more people commit suicide in Iraq and Afghanistan than are killed in active combat show that they cannot handle what is going on. With regards the “Brothers In Arms” taking care of them, where are the brothers in arms for the 300,000 veterans sleeping on the streets or in shelters each night? “I think you should apologize… Read more »

Andrew, While I applaud your effort in bringing attention to the situation that our returning servicemembers and veterans face, I think you should confine your comments and suppositions our young soldiers are expecting and what they are prepared for to what you actually know. You are by your own admission someone who believes that you could never take another human life under any circumstances, and therefore you are projecting your own bias as an assumption that others are not capable of dealing with something so horrific. I will preface my next remarks with the fact that I am a former… Read more »

The fact that over 1 in 3 of those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from mental health conditions, 11-20% of which are PTSD, shows that others in your army are not capable of handling what is going on. The fact that more people commit suicide in Iraq and Afghanistan than are killed in active combat show that they cannot handle what is going on. With regards the “Brothers In Arms” taking care of them, where are the brothers in arms for the 300,000 veterans sleeping on the streets or in shelters each night? “I think you should apologize… Read more »